Senior Director of Build

Job description

About Helion We are a fusion power company based in Everett, WA, with the mission to build the world's first fusion power plant, enabling a future with unlimited clean electricity. Our vision is a world with clean, reliable, and affordable energy for everyone. Since Helion's founding in 2013, we have raised $1.5 billion from long-time investors such as Sam Altman, Mithril, and Capricorn Investment Group as well as new investors including Thrive Capital, LightSpeed Venture Capital, SoftBank, and others to propel us forward. Our current prototype, Polaris, has reached record-breaking plasma temperatures of 150 million degrees Celsius (13 keV). Helion is continuing to iterate and on the path to the world's first fusion power plant, Orion. This is a pivotal time to join Helion. You will tackle real-world challenges with a team that prizes urgency, rigor, ownership, and a commitment to delivering hard truths – values essential to achieving what no one has before. Together, we will change the future of energy, because the world can't wait. What You Will Be Doing We are hiring a Senior Director of Build to lead the manufacturing and assembly of Helion's fusion generators and subscale plasma devices. You will mentor experienced leaders, create strategic plans, and personally accelerate our transition from rapid prototyping to scalable, repeatable generator manufacturing while establishing the production, construction, commissioning, and field service capabilities required to deploy and support a national fleet of fusion power plants. You will report directly to our VP of Operations/Engineering at our Everett, WA office. You Will - Directly manage the leaders of Helion's Build Team: Integration, Magnet Assembly, Fabrication, and Machining. - Work with Helion's executive leaders to establish goals for the Production organization that align with company strategy and take full ownership of delivering against those objectives. - Mentor production managers and supervisors on headcount planning, work center design, technician hiring and training, milestone planning, rate-based production goals, and performance management. - Build strategic machine shop capabilities (mills, lathes, water jets, dimensional inspection) to support rapid prototyping, near-term milestone execution, and long-term manufacturing scalability. - Establish partnerships and operating processes with Engineering, Operations, Supply Chain, Contracting, Materials Management, Logistics, Inventory, and Program Management teams to improve production planning, material flow, scheduling, and execution. - Provide design-for-manufacturability (DFM) feedback to Engineering to improve manufacturability, cost, quality, reliability, and long-term serviceability of Helion's products. - Develop Helion's long-term manufacturing strategy, including make-versus-buy decisions, capital investment planning, and strategic contract manufacturing partnerships to optimize cost, flexibility, speed to deployment, and capital efficiency. - Build and oversee partnerships with general contractors (GCs), EPC firms, specialty fabricators, and regional trade partners to execute generator construction and commissioning activities while maintaining consistent quality, schedule, and safety performance. - Own the team that integrates and builds the world's first fusion power plant in Malaga, Washington Required Skills - 10+ years of progressive leadership in advanced manufacturing, industrial production, energy, aerospace, heavy equipment, or other complex capital equipment industries. - Proven success building and scaling high-performing engineering and manufacturing organizations, from rapid hardware prototyping through high-volume, rate-based production. - Extensive experience leading end-to-end (cradle-to-grave) engineering and manufacturing programs, driving operational growth and production excellence. - Demonstrated cross-functional leadership in production planning, capacity management, and collaboration with Supply Chain, Engineering, Program Management, Logistics, Materials, Inventory, and Contracting teams. - Strong business and technical foundation, including financial and operational management (CapEx, manufacturing costs, productivity, KPIs), with a bachelor's degree in engineering, Manufacturing, Operations, or a related technical field (or equivalent experience). #LI-Onsite #LI-MT1 Benefits Our total compensation package includes benefits, including but not limited to: - Medical, Dental, and Vision plans for employees and their families - 31 Days of PTO (21 vacation days and 10 sick days) - 10 Paid holidays, plus company-wide winter break - Up to 5% employer 401(k) match - Short term disability, long term disability, and life insurance - Paid parental leave and support (up to 16 weeks) - Annual wellness stipend Helion is an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. If you need assistance or an accommodation during the interview process, please let us know.